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Warm Temps, Natural Spectacles, in Store for Oregon Coast This Weekend

Big waves crashing on central coast this past weekend

(Oregon Coast) – After a few harrowing days of wacky weather and snowy conditions scaring away tourists, businesses on the Oregon coast are looking forward to almost balmy conditions in the coming weekend, and the possibility of sizable crowds.

Temperatures will be in the upper 50’s throughout most of the coastal region on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and all that scary snow that kept a lot of visitors away will be long gone from the highways to the beach. Some areas of the coast may be around 60 degrees, which had at least one Seaside resident chomping at the bit for more customers to walk through his door.

“We’re going to hold a bikini contest on the beach,” said Flashback Malt Shoppe owner Gary Diebolt.

Diebolt was just kidding, as the weather won’t be quite warm enough for that. A good chance of rain is predicted as well, although Sunday looks fairly dry, albeit overcast, according to weather reports so far. But many on the coast believe it will be a good weekend to visit for a variety of reasons, including some interesting displays of nature that may be a bit wild and unusual.

Neskowin

The Dorchester Conference – the yearly gathering of Republicans – happens in Seaside this weekend, which always brings in a good crowd to the ice cream shop up the street from Diebolt’s, Zinger’s Homemade Ice Cream.

“Dorchester is this weekend, and there is always a good turnout,” said owner Mike Exinger. “And with all the bad weather all this week, sometimes folks look forward to any kind of a break, and seek the beach. We’re hopeful.”

That idea of visitors getting a break from skidding around streets and fender benders resounded with Brian Hines in Manzanita as well.

“So far we are 50 percent reserved out for this weekend,” Hines said, referring to his motel, San Dune Inn. “It’s a combo of things: golf tournament in town, Portland Boys Choir concert at St. Catherine's Episcopal Church Friday evening and return guests looking for a break.”

In Newport, the managers of Starfish Point were saying it should be a banner weekend for a number of reasons.

“We’ve been getting a lot of calls for this weekend, but we’ve been reserved full for a while,” said Danielle Emerick. “I don’t think people were spooked by this snowy weather. We’ve been full this week too.”

Look for storm-tossed oddities to hit the beach, like this massive twine of bull kelp in Seaside

Emerick noted the waves have been doing some interesting things all week, which should make for a great show. “With the way the tides have been, the waves have been really angry,” Emerick said. “They’ve been really big, doing some spectacular things. It hasn’t been the normal wave after wave, which gets a bit hypnotizing. I suppose it’s the ‘March comes in like a lion’ thing. But the cool thing about Newport is that if the weather’s bad you can still have a good time.”

BeachConnection.net caught a few photographs of the tidal insanity on the central coast on Sunday, when swells of thirty feet or more created some monstrous waves. These unusual, powerful breakers are expected to be seen periodically over the weekend as well.

The crew at the Seaside Aquarium said more than a few interesting things can be seen with unusual conditions that have been causing a variety of oceanic wonders to wash up.

This weekend will still be the calm before the storm, figuratively speaking, as spring break madness is just around the corner. It’s also the calm after the storm for the central coast, after last weekend’s wild blast that was the Seafood & Wine Festival.

It'll be warmer but overcast (pictured here, Florence)

Emerick noted it shouldn’t be too wild on the weekend, either, making it perfect for relaxing on the coast.

“It’s a little bit of a letdown after the Seafood and Wine Fest,” Emerick said. “It’s like, ‘Now what?’ But it means we’ve got time to just sit back and start drinking the wine we bought there.”

Some other big events are poised to attract a lot of visitors the region as well. Newport hosts the “Jazz Meltdown with ‘Perpetua,’ “ featuring a variety of jazz musicians at the Newport Performing Arts Center at 7 p.m. on Saturday. Cost is $12 or $7 for students. In Yachats, the Landmark Lounge brings Chicago singer-guitarist James Armstrong to town, a blues artist of national renown. He performs for free there on Sunday. The Seaside Art Walk happens all over town on Saturday as well, with entertainment and artworks from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

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